The highlight of the Armani fall 2010 show was mr. Clive Owen who was joined By Rachel Zoe seated next to him. He was dashing and charming and clapped at the correct times. I once sat next to him at the Starbucks across from the Hazelton Hotel on Yorkville, though being Canadian I did not bother him.
Rachel Zoe waxed poetic after the show, she knows what side her bread is buttered on.
I ran into this charming lady on my way out, I don’t know who she is but she was very captivating, I exclaimed Bella Donna and she smiled back

The Versace show started with the roar of a motorcycle, from there on we knew we were in for some sexy biker chicks. Fun as it sounds Donatella does makes women look strong and confident. As Barb Atkin from Holtrenfrew was over heard saying “Versace makes evening gowns sexy” (paraphrase)
The finale was breathtaking as the plexiglass wall ascended to reveal a sexy tableau of super models.
All praise Donatella !!!!

When Susie Sheffman and I were in Milan last spring, we went to the “re-see” of the Prada collection for fall 2009, the first thing that came out of Susie’s mouth was “the girls guide to Hunting and Fishing”. to be honest I never read the book, but it seemed to be a perfect description of Miucca’s look for this fall. Sometimes one designers collection can influence a fashion story, then the fashion editor finds looks from other designers to round out the shoot.

The first job at hand was finding the perfect location, with the help of the Ontario Tourist Board we found this wonderful resort, The Killarney Lodge in Algonquin Park. The fashion team starts their work, countless hours of scouring look books and a zillion calls, some frustration and the clothes arrive at the magazine. We pack up our team and off we go to Algonquin, arriving in a rag tag menagerie of station wagons and white rental panel vans instead of a fleet of Black Suburbans.

The work begins the night before the shoot, we go through the looks, finalize the make-up inspiration and then we get a little down time, the adventurous go for a dip in the frigid water and then we hang out for a bit on the porch of one our cabins. We start early the next day, make-up takes a while and I want to catch the early morning light. We are pumped by the excitement and shoot till late in the day. The shoot takes two days, there is hard work, it’s not easy balancing on rocks in platform shoes, particularly when one of the islands is covered in little gifts from the birds. It may not be glamorous behind the scene’s but it sure is fun. Check out the story in the October issue of Fashion Magazine,

Last night The Bay hosted a cocktail party at the R.O.M. to launch the Vanity Fair Portrait exhibition. The guests were greeted by a row of handsome young men decked out in the Hudson’s Bay signature coats. We were treated to wine, champagne and a stirring yet brief speech by Bonnie Brooks heralding the opening of The Room, which has been redesigned by the internationally successful team of Yabu Pushlberg.

The show highlights the work of master photgraphers from the insception of Vanity fair in 1913 to its re-launch in 1983. It’s incredible how the images resonate, they have become part of our common memory, the photo’s of Madonna, Princess Di and Louise Brooks are iconic. The show highlights the work of such illustrious photographers as Edward Steichen, Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino and Hoyningen-Huene. The usual suspects were there, Derick Chetty from the Toronto Star, Lisa Tant from Flare Magazine, Tu Ly, a raveshing Dawn Bellini from Hugo Boss who is expecting her second son in two weeks and Susie Sheffman of Fashion Magazine looking sleek in a customised Club Monaco dress.

I’m always amazed at how fast information travels on the internet, Greta Constantines new look book came out today and it has already made it to London,
Well respected blogger Susie Bubble (no relation to Paul/Bubble from Greta) has already given them rave revues on her blog Style Bubble and they are available at Harrod’s exclusively in the U.K.. It’s not long before Kirk and Stephen become international stars and no longer a Canadian secret. You go boys !!!!

Sometimes I think there is something in the air. It has happened before and I know it will happen again.

Elise and Gabor for Glow magazine

When we plan stories for magazines the ideas come from many places, sometimes it’s the art director, sometimes it’s the beauty/fashion editor and sometimes it’s the photographer. Weeks and even months go into the planning of stories and then it’s at least a month (if not more) after the shoot is completed that it ends up on the news stand.

My heart dropped when I opened the March issue of Haper’s Bazaar and there was a story in it that looked very similar to a story I had shot months earlier for Glow Magazine. The worst part was that our story dropped on the news stands a couple of weeks later.
We live in a post modern world and sometimes the idea of originality seems obsolete. Within weeks of Designer Runway shows stores like Zara and H&M have knocked off the look and are selling items that look similar to the designer originals.
I know we are all influenced by our hero’s, but I’ve always tried to put my own passion and personal history into my work.
I once did a shoot inspired by Wong Kar Wai because I felt very passionatlely about his movies. That being said I’ve never copied someone else’s editorial, so it was such a shock to see it in Harper’s Bazzar.
The Germans have a word for it, Zeitgeist (they have a word for everthing) It’s like there is something in the air, or it could be mere coincidence, but it’s funny that people who don’t know each other come up with the same ideas at the same time.

In every photographers life their are a few shoots that resonate with many viewers. One such shoot I did was with Jessica Stam.

It was simple shoot, we brought my bed down from my bedroom set it up on some paint cans and put a scrim behind it in front of one of the windows in my studio. Jessica transformed herself into an iconic movie star from days gone by. Sometime in life you just have to remember the old rule K.I.S.S.

Today as I was driving to the gym I was listening to Ryan Seacrest (my supposed twin brother) and he was talking about Rihanna and the misfortune she has encountered as of late. It got me to thinking of happier times that she had.

I photographed her for the October 2007 cover of Fashion Magazine. I remember every one was freaking out because she was over 2 hours late, I felt worried that I was going to have a Diva on my hands. When she walked in with her posse it though for sure it was going to be trouble. She turned out to be so sweet and genuine, apologizing endlessly for her tardiness. She was amazing, she got right into the swing of things and was willing to try any thing for the shoot and stayed longer to make up for the lost time. Rihanna took time out to sign autographs for the fashion editor’s daughter. You hear so many bad things about young pop stars and all I can say it that she was GREAT, I hope the best for her in these difficult times.